Sister Prayer

2022.01.24

“Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.” Romans 8:26-27 The Message

Dear St. Paul’s Family,

Friday morning, my husband Rod and I were reading an entry in Daily Guideposts 2022 by Rick Hamlin. Hamlin wrote, “In the last few years of my mom’s life I had a secret prayer for her, “Mom, when the time comes – and I don’t wish for it anytime soon – but when it comes, I pray that you get a direct flight.”

About 3 hours later, I got a call from my sister’s assisted living nurse. Carol was having an emotional meltdown, along with a couple medical issues, and they needed to send her to the ER.  Four days earlier she fell flat on her face and was taken to the ER to rule out fractures. Then on Saturday, Rod got a call that his father was being taken to the ER for heart issues. Yikes!

The words by Rick Hamlin were timely for us. “When the time comes – and I don’t wish for it anytime soon – but when it comes, I pray that you get a direct flight.” I’ve been praying that prayer for them often in the past hours.

I think we’d all like a direct flight when our time comes. At the same time, prayers get answered in ways that might not make sense in this life. My addendum to the prayer is that they have good attendants on each leg of the journey, and that God will inspire the flight crew and passenger to deeply experience the presence and peace that passes all understanding.

Somehow “God’s Spirit is right alongside us, helping us. It doesn’t matter how or what to pray. The Spirit makes a prayer out of our wordless sighs and aching groans. He knows us and keeps us present before God.”

Trusting the presence of God’s Spirit, right alongside me – and you. ~ Anne